Heart-bypass Surgery Lays Up 2 Politicians

STEGER — Heart-bypass operations performed two weeks apart have sidelined village president Lou Sherman and Trustee Robert Joyce.

Sherman, 71, said he hopes to make an appearance at the next village board meeting, scheduled for Sept. 7. Joyce, who turns 52 Friday, said he hopes to attend the Sept. 20 village board meeting.

Sherman, village president since 1973, underwent a triple-bypass operation on July 28 at Ingalls Hospital in Harvey. Joyce, elected to the village board this year, underwent a quadruple-bypass operation on Aug. 12, also at Ingalls.

Doctors detected Sherman's heart disease on July 27 during a scheduled physical examination. After Sherman failed a stress test, another test showed he needed an operation, Sherman said.

Doctors detected Joyce's heart disease during an Aug. 10 examination, prompted by "a couple of weeks of tightness in my upper chest," Joyce said. Tests showed the need for a bypass operation and it was scheduled two days later, Joyce said.

Sherman said he does "feel like a semi hit me."

Joyce said he gets "tired pretty easy. Otherwise I feel great."

Both village officials said they had no idea they had serious heart problems. Sherman said, "I never took a pill in my life." Joyce said he quit smoking cigarettes in August 1994.

Joyce and Sherman have frequently found themselves on opposite sides of issues. But the bypass gave them something in common: a heart surgeon. On Tuesday, the two crossed paths at the doctor's office. "I was going for my last time," said Sherman. "He was going for his first."